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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27251653">The Bonds of Orphans</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamarik/pseuds/yamarik'>yamarik</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Battle of Hogwarts, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Orphan Draco Malfoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:22:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,929</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27251653</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamarik/pseuds/yamarik</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For her first five years at Hogwarts, Veronica Potter's best friend was Draco Malfoy, the one person who could understand the pain of having their parents die for them. But after Draco was forced to become a death eater, things fell apart. However, upon returning to Hogwarts to search for the last horcrux, Veronica discovers that maybe Draco is still her friend after all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Bonds of Orphans</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So the original premise was supposed to just be "Draco and Harry are both orphans and became best friends out of solidarity". However, since I didn't want to re-novelize the books, I ended up just skipping ahead to the Battle of Hogwarts, and so it might not feel all that fresh, sorry. Also, somewhere along the way Harry became a girl because for some reason, I felt like I kept his personality closer to canon when I wrote him as a girl than when I tried to write him as a guy. I don't know, it just happened.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><i>It was New Year’s Eve, 1981, yet for once, Malfoy Manor was all but empty, devoid of the usual guests and party-like atmosphere that had historically been present on this last night of a year. But this year had brought with it many changes, and between the fact that their family had fallen out of favor and the need to consider how they would be moving forward in the new year, Lucius and Narcissa had opted to forgo their usual celebrations in favor of a quiet evening with just the two of them and their eighteen-month-old son.</i>
</p>
<p><i>As the hour drew towards midnight, the couple could be found standing and talking in Lucius’s study, Draco having already been put to bed. The mood between the two was somber and reluctant, a little uncertain, a little afraid.</i>
</p>
<p><i>“You’ve waited long enough, Lucius,” Narcissa informed her husband. “The Dark Lord will not return, surely you see that now.”</i>
</p>
<p><i>“But for him to be done in by an infant-” Lucius protested.</i>
</p>
<p><i>“Is inconceivable, yes, you’ve said so,” Narcissa finished for him. “As have all the others of your cohort. But that’s what happened. It’s time to move on, my love. We need to look to the future. That’s how wizards like us survive. We bet on the Dark Lord, and he lost, so now we need to reconfigure ourselves to fit into this new world.” She crossed her arms, standing firmly as her husband paced restlessly.</i>
</p>
<p><i>“But a world where blood status is ignored and mudbloods are freely given wands and magical educations?” Lucius protested. He did tend to be a bit reluctant to accept changes.</i>
</p>
<p><i>“Just because we adapt ourselves to such a world does not mean we cannot teach our son to hold to the pureblood traditions,” Narcissa responded primly, sticking her nose in the air. A moment later, however, she lowered it, uncrossing her arms. “However, you must admit, pureblood lines do seem to be weakening these days. More and more squibs are being born, and meanwhile, muggleborn witches and wizards have been proving just as talented as witches and wizards of the old families. Sometimes more talented. Look at the Potters; Lily Potter was muggleborn, yet she was a powerful witch in her own right. And young Veronica defeated the Dark Lord. I’m sure many will say that was the Potter bloodline coming through, but what if Lily’s blood was also a contributor to the girl’s power? We cannot say. My point is, I don’t want our Draco to be held back by outdated ideas. If the new way of things is to accept witches and wizards from all walks of life, then I think that’s what we should teach our son. That’s the rhetoric we should hold to from now on.”</i>
</p>
<p><i>“Perhaps you’re right, darling,” Lucius replied, sinking tiredly into an armchair. “I do find it unseemly, but even the Malfoys cannot stand alone against the entirety of the wizarding world. If we try and hold firm now, we’ll be ruined. And while it does mean abandoning many traditions, the oldest Malfoy tradition has always been to do whatever it takes to rise to the times.”</i>
</p>
<p><i>“Then it’s settled,” Narcissa said. “We will leave the Dark Lord and all he stood for in this year, and move on to the next. It’s almost midnight, shall we drink a toast to that?”</i>
</p>
<p><i>“If you insist,” Lucius said with a smile, drawing his wand and waving it at a bottle of champagne and a pair of glasses that had already been prepared. The bottle leapt into motion, cork popping off and spilling out a good amount of fizz before the two glasses could be poured and floated over to their recipients. The couple took their glasses, and Lucius stood, walking over to his wife so they could have their toast.</i>
</p>
<p><i>“To a new year, and new times,” Lucius said, raising his glass. Narcissa smiled back at him, raising her own in turn.</i>
</p>
<p><i>“To the future,” she responded, and titled her glass for the clink.</i>
</p>
<p><i>Before their glasses could meet, however, a shudder went through the entire house as the wards were triggered. There were intruders on the property.</i>
</p>
<p><i>The glasses were immediately abandoned as Lucius and Narcissa both flew into motion. They instantly began casting spells to call for help and to trigger some of the manor’s defenses, working in tandem to protect their home. But it likely wouldn’t be enough, since they couldn’t afford to activate some of the more dangerous spells in case the intruders were aurors. If they were to turn over a new leaf, then they couldn’t be hurting law enforcement. It was doubtful the intruders were aurors though, given that it was New Year’s Eve and no one would want to conduct a raid tonight. Besides, everyone knew that there had been a string of attacks on the Dark Lord’s known supporters recently, and while the Malfoys had largely managed to conceal their deeds, it was no secret that they were old school and had held with most of the Dark Lord’s beliefs.</i>
</p>
<p><i>“Dobby!” Lucius yelled as he finished off his share of the spells. The house elf instantly appeared at his side, cringing and shrinking back as usual. The creature disgusted Lucius, but he ignored his distaste for the elf in that moment, instead issuing orders immediately. “You and the other elves go to the nursery. There are intruders on the grounds, and if they try to attack Draco you must protect him at all costs. If worst comes to worst, you are to take Draco to Severus, understand?”</i>
</p>
<p><i>“Yes Master,” Dobby shrilled with a nod, snapping his fingers and disappearing from the room. That was that taken care of.</i>
</p>
<p><i>“How long do you think it will be before help arrives?” Narcissa asked, her face and tone of voice maintaining a perfect facade of collected tranquility. </i>
</p>
<p><i>“I don’t know, my love,” Lucius replied softly, not succeeding quite so well at containing his worry. Most people would be at parties tonight, or asleep. Anyone who might respond to the disturbance would likely have other concerns at the moment, since drunk party-goers tend to do stupid things like apparate into muggle districts without proper concealment or accidentally curse their houses and jinx themselves. Some might even set off their own wards in their drunken stupor, which would make the manor’s alarm seem even less important. And when you topped it all off with the fact that the call was coming from the Malfoys, who were currently in disgrace… It could be hours before anyone arrived.</i>
</p>
<p><i>At exactly midnight, a spell from the intruders shattered every single window in the manor, and another spell blasted the front door off its hinges. Defense spells began to work their magic, but the intruders fended them off, moving further and further in. At quarter past twelve, the first intruders reached the study and began dueling the two wizards inside. </i>
</p>
<p><i>At twenty five past, more intruders reached the nursery, and the house elves inside began to fight to protect their young master.</i>
</p>
<p><i>At quarter to one, Severus Snape was awoken by a distraught Dobby, carrying a fussy baby and babbling about an attack on the manor. Knowing he couldn’t go alone and not knowing who else to turn to, he contacted Dumbledore, before apparating to the manor himself.</i>
</p>
<p><i>By one AM, the aurors had arrived and arrested the invaders, but it was already too late. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had perished in the fighting, as had all the house elves except Dobby, leaving Severus in custody of Draco. The culprits were more than happy to plead guilty to their crimes, because in their eyes, they had performed a public service. And thus, another child was orphaned by the Dark Lord’s reign.</i>
</p><hr/>
<p>Veronica wasn’t sure what she’d expected to be at the end of the passage from the Hog’s Head, but the Room of Requirement was not it. Especially not a version of the Room of Requirement that was apparently functioning as living quarters for a good portion of the student body. Yet here they were, surrounded by students and house colors and hammocks, and Veronica didn’t even have to look at Ron and Hermione to see they were just as stunned by this as she was. It felt surreal.
</p>
<p>“So what are we doing next?” Neville asked, and Veronica felt her heart sink. She’d wanted to sneak into Hogwarts unnoticed and fight alone, not get her friends involved.
</p>
<p>“<i>We</i> aren’t doing anything,” Veronica said firmly. “Ron and Hermione and I have something we need to find, so we’ll be going to do that, but the rest of you-”
</p>
<p>“The rest of us are going to help,” Terry Boot argued, folding his arms as he joined in on the conversation.
</p>
<p>“No you’re not, it’s too dangerous,” Veronica argued. “You could get hurt, or killed, or-”
</p>
<p>“And what do you think the past year has been like?” Seamus asked, also butting in. Hell, at this point, pretty much everyone in the room was listening in, ready to chip in at any moment. This was no longer a conversation between Veronica, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, if indeed it ever had been. “We know bloody well what the death eaters might do to us, Veronica. We’ve seen hell here, and we know there’s more in store if we don’t stop it now.”
</p>
<p>“Here here!” someone called out from the back of the room.
</p>
<p>“It’s our school too, Veronica,” Parvati Patil reminded her. “Our world. If they win here, that’s it. You may not want to risk us, but really, you’re all we’ve got at this point. Better to lose us than you, right?”
</p>
<p>“Besides,” Neville added, “with any luck, everyone will make it out of this mess alive. And with a bit more time, we should have plenty of luck on our side.”
</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.
</p>
<p>“Just that we’ve been preparing for this for quite some time now,” Michael Corner smirked from where he was perched.
</p>
<p>“Just trust us, Veronica,” Lavender Brown pleaded. “We’ve already let the others know you’re here, they’ll be on their way. Once they get here, we can end this.”
</p>
<p>“But-” Veronica protested.
</p>
<p>“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” interrupted a familiar voice, and Veronica whirled to see Ginny, Fred, George, and Lee Jordon standing there, matching grins full of mischief. Even a year of darkness couldn’t dampen their spirits, it seemed. Veronica couldn’t help but envy them that.
</p>
<p>After that, more familiar faces began arriving one after the other, but still Neville insisted they wait, wait, wait. At some point, the Room’s main door appeared, and a few more students joined the growing throng of people in the room. Apparently there were some brave souls who had opted to face the dangers of the school in the open rather than retreat into the Room of Requirement. 
</p>
<p>And then the door opened again, and Neville said, “Ah, here they are.” Veronica looked to see who it was, and caught sight of two wizards carefully floating a large cauldron together. For a second, the cauldron distracted Veronica, so she didn’t notice the wizards at first, but when she did, her jaw almost dropped in shock. Blaise Zabini certainly was a surprise, but the other person made Veronica’s heart throb painfully. Because two years ago, it would have been a given that that person would be present here. Two years ago, that person had even been Veronica’s best friend. But then, two years ago, on that horrible night when Sirius had died, that person, Draco Malfoy, had been captured trying to avenge Veronica’s godfather for her. Bellatrix had taken Draco, promising to teach her nephew to be a “proper” wizard. Snape had spent all the following summer trying to convince Voldemort that he had been training Draco to be a spy for the death eaters, and that Draco would be more use if he was set free, but in the end, Draco was only released after taking the dark mark and being tasked with killing Dumbledore. There had been no way Draco could disobey Voldemort, and from then on, he had reluctantly distanced himself from Veronica and her allies, allowing himself to become their enemy.
</p>
<p>And yet now he was there, being welcomed with open arms like he belonged, and Veronica hated it. Not because she held any resentment towards Draco for what had happened- if anything- it was her own fault for falling into that stupid trap in the Department of Mysteries- but because she’d spent most of the past two years wishing Draco was at her side still. Because his absences had only made it clear to Veronica that she was in love with Draco, and probably had been since the day they first met.
</p><hr/>
<p><i>It had been an eventful morning for Veronica, discovering magic was real and she was apparently a witch and had been accepted to a wizarding school. All this after the weirdness that had been going on since the owls started appearing. But Veronica was coping as best she could, when the giant man called Hagrid took her to a place called Diagon Alley, and after visiting a couple bank vaults she was handed off to a greasy-haired, hook-nosed man named Snape, who was apparently a professor at Hogwarts and who was there to buy school supplies for his godson, Draco.</i>
</p>
<p><i>Veronica’s first impression of Draco Malfoy was that he was very pale. From his hair to his skin to the color of his eyes to his very presence, he seemed pale. He’d seemed almost as uneasy as Veronica felt (which was very, because she was a barely-eleven-year-old girl who had just been handed off to the care of a strange man, and yes there was magic but that didn’t make the situation any less shady). It wouldn’t be until much later that Veronica learned why.</i>
</p>
<p><i>In the end, Draco ended up being Veronica’s saving grace, holding her hand to keep her from getting left behind when the crowds of shoppers threatened to separate her from her companions, which would have effectively stranded her. When he’d discovered her lack of knowledge regarding the magical world, he’d been happy to answer her questions, which had led to him sharing tales of his upbringing at the very school they’d both be attending. He was like a different person when he talked, coming to life in a way Veronica wouldn’t have thought possible from one who seemed to be the personification of ashiness. By the time Hagrid returned to take her back to the Dursleys, she’d already developed a close rapport with Draco, and was very grateful when Hagrid showed up with a snowy white owl as a birthday present; a messenger she and Draco could use to stay in touch until the start of term.</i>
</p>
<p><i>In some ways, Veronica would come to regret Draco being her first friend, since friendship came easily with him. And while it wasn’t exactly hard for her to get along with the other students, it was a little bit harder to relate to someone who, say, had grown up with six siblings, both parents, and an extended family than it was to relate to Draco who, like Veronica, had been isolated by personal circumstances. Veronica had been alone her whole life because the Dursleys wanted to keep everyone away from her “freakishness”. Draco had been alone his whole life because he’d grown up in a castle where everyone was older than him. And, as Veronica would later learn, there were plenty of wizards who considered Draco’s very existence a blemish on the wizarding world, due to the fact that his parents had apparently been known supporters of a dark wizard, and as such, the whole family was viewed as tainted. So while Veronica was able to make friends with a boy named Ron who sat with her on the train and a girl named Hermione who she ended up sharing a dorm with, it took a bit more effort to connect with them.</i>
</p>
<p><i>Besides, since Draco had ended up in a different house than Veronica, they could maintain a healthy rivalry that Veronica didn’t really develop with Ron and Hermione. Of course, it didn’t really develop until their second year when Draco was able to get onto the Slytherin quidditch team by challenging the previous seeker to a flying match and winning spectacularly, but even before then there had always been a light tension where, whenever one of them earned points for their house they’d always look to the other, or they’d try and master new spells before the other did. It just wasn’t like that with Ron and Hermione. Obviously Hermione was a head and shoulders above everyone else academically, and Ron was the type to bemoan his shortcomings in such a way that it made it hard to celebrate one’s victories over him, whereas Draco and Veronica could banter and tease each other and compete at a similar level, because while Draco was smarter than Veronica, she was finding that, when motivated, her innate magical ability could make up for that. </i>
</p>
<p><i>Over the years, Draco would continue to be that grounding force that he had shown when he and Veronica first met. In second year, when a used book-dealer had accidentally sold Tom Riddle’s diary to Ginny Weasley, causing her to reopen the Chamber of Secrets, people had suspected Veronica of being the heir of Slytherin. And who had been there to tell people off and to comfort Veronica? Draco. Ron and Hermione too, of course (until Hermione got petrified anyway), but Draco had been immensely useful in helping them scope out the Slytherins. And in third year, when Veronica had faced the pressure of being targeted by a mass murderer and followed by a Grim (both of which turned out to be fallacies, but she didn’t know that)? Draco was almost a constant presence at her side, wand out ready to jinx anyone who might try to harm his friend. Or when the Goblet of Fire spat out Veronica’s name and the whole school turned against her, even Ron, Draco had still been her steadfast friend (so it was hardly a surprise when he’d been the person she’d needed to rescue during the second task, though it certainly had generated some embarrassing rumors about them dating which Rita Skeeter had happily jumped upon). Through thick and thin, he’d never let her down except for the time in first year when Veronica, Ron, and Hermione had mistakenly thought Snape was trying to steal the sorcerer's stone because Veronica saw him limping after Halloween. He’d been there for Veronica in so many ways both large and small, and she’d gotten quite used to his presence in her life.</i>
</p>
<p><i>Until Veronica had messed up and walked into Voldemort’s trap, and the people dearest to her had paid the price. Sirius had fallen, and Draco…</i>
</p>
<p><i>In some ways, their sixth year was the least stressful for Veronica: no murderers sneaking about the school, no life-threatening competitions, no evil toad-women dishing out constant detentions. But at the same time, it felt like the worst year, since Draco wouldn’t talk to them anymore. He’d gotten Snape to explain that Draco was being forced to perform some task for the dark lord, that their friendship would only be a danger to all of them, but Veronica had wanted to believe the best of her friend, even as she saw the small signs that indicated that he truly was up to no good, albeit against his will. It wasn’t until the night on the astronomy tower that she truly saw how his summer in Voldemort’s clutches had broken her friend. At that moment she’d realized that she really did need to be the one to defeat the dark lord. Not that she hadn’t always, since the dark lord was already determined to kill her and it was him or her, and since the whole of wizarding Britain was depending on her to do so, but now she had the additional reason of needing to save her friend. </i>
</p>
<p><i>But maybe Draco wasn’t as broken as she’d thought he’d been, since it seemed like he was already working to save himself.</i>
</p><hr/>
<p>“What the bloody hell is he doing here?” Ron asked, finding his voice before Veronica did. At least he sounded baffled rather than angry, which was an improvement on the months after Dumbledore’s death where Ron had railed about Draco’s betrayal and hadn’t accepted a single word in the Slytherin’s defense.
</p>
<p>“You’ll have to be a bit more specific than that, Weasley,” Zabini quipped. “Also, welcome back to Hogwarts, my lovely Gryffindors. It’s good to see you. Love what you’ve done with your hair, Potter, it’s very you.” Veronica self-consciously reached up to her head, touching the short locks which she had resorted to as a means of disguise, since, with a slight bit of glamouring, everyone would think she was a boy and not look twice. She couldn’t tell if Zabini was genuinely complimenting her, or if he’d been being facetious.
</p>
<p>“I think what Ron means to say is that we’re a bit surprised to see either of you, Zabini. You or Draco,” Hermione explained.
</p>
<p>“Which is exactly the point,” Zabini replied. “A couple nasty Slytherins like us, of course we’d be in the dark lord’s camp, right? Or so everyone thinks, which is what makes us perfect spies. Or well, I should say me, since Draco here’s had a bit too much of your Gryffindor influence and has taken to mouthing off to the Carrows, which they don’t particularly like. I think he might even have Longbottom beat in the amount of detentions he’s gotten, though of course they have to go easy on him being Snape’s godson and all that.”
</p>
<p>“If you’re done chatting, I’d like to put this cauldron down sometime in the next five years,” Draco seethed from behind Zabini, looking irritable. “Or at least before Old Snakeface comes marching in and kills us all.”
</p>
<p>“Right, sorry,” Zabini said, and moved forward, maneuvering carefully so that he edged his way through the other students while keeping his wand trained on the cauldron. Draco followed, his movements stiff as they walked, and as they finally lowered the cauldron, his face momentarily became a pained grimace.
</p>
<p>“Also, Ron,” Draco added, turning to face the Gryffindor trio with much less grace than usual, “what the bloody hell I’m doing here is delivering something Sev and I have been working on since last year, something you’ll be needing before too long I imagine.”
</p>
<p>“Wait a second,” Hermione said, moving forward to peer into the cauldron. “Is that… Felix Felicis?”
</p>
<p>Draco nodded. “There would be more but we had a few unsuccessful batches. It’s not really meant to be made in large quantities. But we couldn’t afford to do any less at a time, since we wanted to be able to protect as many people as possible. It’s not enough for everyone, especially once the Order arrives, but if people pair up we should be able to manage. As long as someone who takes the potion is looking out for someone without, they should be safe. That’s what we think anyway. It’s not like Sev and I could test it out, since we’ll need every drop of this stuff for the battle.”
</p>
<p>“Guys, no,” Veronica gasped. “This isn’t your fight, you should-”
</p>
<p>“Potter, do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now?” Zabini asked condescendingly. “Nevermind, obviously you don’t. You wouldn’t be Potter if you did. But the fact of the matter is this: this <i>is</i> in fact our fight, and has been for quite some time now. But even if you’re right, that doesn’t change the fact that we need this potion, especially you. The goal may have been to dose as many of our allies as possible to create the best possible outcome, but I can guarantee you that Draco at least, and probably Snape too, certainly had you in mind while brewing this stuff. Don’t you dare put their efforts, or the efforts of everyone present, to waste.”
</p>
<p>“He’s got a point, Vee,” Neville chipped in. “Our allies are already on their way. Everyone will be here. We can get the younger kids out, and anyone who doesn’t want to fight, and then those that are left can kick some death eater arse while you do your thing and get rid of His Snakeyness. Sounds like a win to me.”
</p>
<p>“It’s not that simple,” Veronica argued, shaking her head. “I can’t just kill him, there’s a few things that need to be taken care of first, that’s why we need to find what we came here for. And- and there’s other things too, and we’re just not ready. I know you want to fight, but as things are… Until we do what we came to do, we just can’t win.”
</p>
<p>“Which is why you need to let us help you,” Ginny insisted. “Tell us what needs to be done. We’ll help.”
</p>
<p>“We could use a little help, mate,” Ron pointed out, nudging Veronica lightly.
</p>
<p>“But-”
</p>
<p>“Remind me again, who was it who kept pestering me last year with endless notes about seeking help when it’s needed and not trying to handle everything alone?” Draco drawled loudly to the general populace of the room, pointedly not looking at Veronica until he’d finished speaking. She stuck her tongue out at him.
</p>
<p>“Well it wasn’t like you paid those notes any heed,” Veronica snapped back.
</p>
<p>“I literally couldn’t,” Draco replied acidly. “But somehow I doubt you’ve been forced into any magically binding oaths forcing you to act alone, so let. Us. Bloody. Help you.”
</p>
<p>“I think we should listen to them too,” Hermione said quietly. “It’s not like we have any clue where the horcrux might be, and Draco’s right: you’re being a hypocrite.”
</p>
<p>“Hermione, aside from Ravenclaw’s whatever, we still have two more of those things to deal with,” Veronica hissed back. “We can’t kill you-know-who until we take care of all that. If we fight now, it’ll all be in vain.”
</p>
<p>“First off, we already have the cup, we just need to destroy it,” Hermione pointed out. “And secondly, you-know-who’s going to be keeping that snake with him, meaning we have to face him to kill it.”
</p>
<p>“We’ll only get one chance at this, Mione!”
</p>
<p>“Vee, Mione, enough,” Ron interrupted. “Look, everyone, we’re looking for something that would have belonged to Ravenclaw, anyone got any ideas?”
</p>
<p>“Well what about her diadem?” Luna piped up. “It’s the most famous item associated with Ravenclaw.”
</p>
<p>“The diadem’s been lost for as long as anyone can remember,” Cho retorted gently.
</p>
<p>“Alright then, anything else?” Veronica asked desperately.
</p>
<p>There was an awkward shuffling among the Ravenclaws, but otherwise there was silence.
</p>
<p>“So the diadem’s our only lead, then,” Veronica sighed. “Okay, everyone, we’re going to have to find this diadem, and quickly.”
</p>
<p>“Then we’d better start looking,” Hannah Abbot said practically. “And you’re sure it’s in the school?”
</p>
<p>“Yes,” Veronica said, ignoring the small niggling voice of doubt at the back of her mind. What if they were wrong? What if Voldemort hadn’t really hidden it here when he came for his staff interview? What if-
</p>
<p>Veronica wrenched her thoughts away from such paths. 
</p>
<p>“In the meantime, let’s start distributing Malfoy’s luck potion,” Neville said. “We can give out about half of it now, and then the rest when the Order arrives. Don’t take it right away, just keep it on hand in case things go bad. And keep your coins about you, so we can make sure any information gets spread about properly.”
</p>
<p>Neville directed everyone to pair off and line up together. As he did so, Draco and Zabini began conjuring up small vials and filling them with potion, then floating them over to whichever pair was next in line. Veronica didn’t pay those happenings much mind though, since she was trying to think of how to find the horcrux. Obviously it wouldn’t be somewhere anyone would simply stumble upon it, but where? The dungeons? Some hidden room even the marauders hadn’t found? A dusty old storage room, or a long-forgotten attic? And wherever it was, how was she supposed to find it in a matter of hours when no one had found it in however many hundreds of years the school had been around?
</p>
<p>A vial drifted into Veronica’s field of vision, hovering inches away from her nose.
</p>
<p>“Um, what’s this?” Veronica asked.
</p>
<p>“We literally just went through this, it’s Felix Felicis, Potter, do keep up,” Zabini sneered.
</p>
<p>“I know that,” Veronica said tiredly, mustering up every last ounce of patience she had left. “I’m just wondering why it’s hovering in front of me. I don’t need it.”
</p>
<p>“Oh please, you need it more than anyone else, Miss Chosen One,” Draco drawled. “Especially if killing the dark lord is as complicated as you claim.”
</p>
<p>“I’ve faced him before, remember,” Veronica pointed out. “He hasn’t killed me yet.”
</p>
<p>“And you haven’t killed him yet either,” Neville said. He shrugged apologetically when Veronica scowled at him. “Sorry, Vee, but it’s how it is.”
</p>
<p>“Plus you barely got out of some of those scrapes alive,” Ron chipped in unnecessarily. “Like in first year when you ended up in hospital after we went after Quirrel-”
</p>
<p>“So did you guys,” Veronica muttered rebelliously.
</p>
<p>“Or third year you almost got kissed by a dementor, though I guess that wasn’t really Moldy’s fault…” Ron continued.
</p>
<p>“You forgot second year where she got poisoned by basilisk venom and had to be saved by Fawkes,” Ginny added. Veronica nearly moaned at how everyone was ganging up on her.
</p>
<p>“Oh yeah, that too,” Ron agreed, nodding.
</p>
<p>“Don’t even start on that shitshow that was fourth year and the Triwizard Tournament,” Draco said. “Which was all orchestrated according to you-know-who’s plotting.”
</p>
<p>“Okay, but I survived, didn’t I?” Veronica asked, even though she could tell it was a losing battle.
</p>
<p>“Fine then, let’s try this: if you don’t take any of the potion, neither will I,” Draco said, crossing his arms.
</p>
<p>“We won’t either,” Hermione agreed, and was followed by a chorus of others who decided to jump on the blackmail bandwagon.
</p>
<p>“Prat,” Veronica spat at Draco.
</p>
<p>“Slytherin,” Draco replied, shrugging the insult off effortlessly.
</p>
<p>“Fine, I’ll take it with me,” Veronica sighed, admitting defeat. She plucked the potion from where it still hovered and pocketed it. There was a small part of her that was glad for the potion, but at the same time… If she didn’t accept the vial, then someone else could have it. Someone else could take the potion, and it might make all the difference between whether they survived or perished. But then again, if she didn’t take it, and as a result, lost, then they might all die anyway. It wasn’t like the dark lord would be merciful towards anyone after they openly resisted him.
</p>
<p>Before long, the potion had been doled out as planned, and everyone turned to Veronica, looking to her for final instructions. She swallowed, wondering why the hell they were looking to her for leadership. Yes, she was the one who would defeat the dark lord, and she’d rallied everyone for Dumbledore’s Army, but defeating the dark lord was something she had to do alone, and as for the days with the DA… things had been different then. Simpler. She hadn’t known about the horcruxes, Dumbledore had been alive to give her advice, it was a completely different ball game back then. A muggle one probably, with only one ball, as opposed to the current situation’s veritable quidditch match with four balls, only all of them were bludgers that had been jinxed to try and kill Veronica. And okay, maybe that wasn’t the best comparison to use, because it made things really intimidating to imagine being chased by four rogue bludgers, and people were still waiting on her to speak.
</p>
<p>“Um, okay then. I guess first thing, Ravenclaws- er, Luna, I suppose- can you tell us what the diadem looks like so we can search for it?”
</p>
<p>“There’s a bust in Ravenclaw Tower that shows Ravenclaw wearing it,” Cho said, speaking up before Luna could. Which, admittedly, might have been for the best, considering what Luna could be like. “It’s really just a tiara, a rather delicate looking one.”
</p>
<p>“So like a crown sort of thing?” a younger Gryffindor asked. Almost every Ravenclaw cringed or rolled their eyes as Cho replied with straining patience, “Yes, but one designed for a woman.”
</p>
<p>“Don’t reckon I’ve ever seen no crown,” the Gryffindor muttered.
</p>
<p>“It’s probably in some barely used corner of the school somewhere,” a Hufflepuff suggested optimistically. “With all of us here looking, I’m sure we’ll find it.”
</p>
<p>“Plus if we all take that potion-” Hannah Abbot began.
</p>
<p>“I’d actually recommend waiting to take it,” Hermione countered. “Only use it if you are in danger. That way, you can guarantee its effects will protect you when you need them, and won’t wear off prematurely.”
</p>
<p>“So basically, hold onto it unless you run into any snakes,” Seamus said, crossing his arms and nodding. “Got it.”
</p>
<p>“Or death eaters,” Ginny added. “Since we’ve already established that they’ll likely be here before long.”
</p>
<p>“Yeah, if death eaters are in the school, definitely take the potion,” Ron agreed.
</p>
<p>“And throw a few dung bombs at them,” Draco suggested. “Then again, maybe not. They’re already full of shite, so they might not notice a bit more even if it hits them in the face.”
</p>
<p>“Speaking of dung bombs, we did bring a few products with us,” Fred announced.
</p>
<p>“A few haven’t completed beta testing yet though, so be sure to chuck those ones extra far, and then get back to us about how well they worked,” George added.
</p>
<p>“Right then,” Veronica said. “If you want some joke products for defense, make sure you see Fred and George before heading out. Otherwise, let’s go. Though, um, could someone come to Ravenclaw Tower with me to see that bust?” Luna nodded graciously, and Veronica sighed with relief. “Thanks, Luna. Okay, anyway, um, please be careful, guys. I don’t want anyone getting hurt if it can be avoided. Also try not to attract too much attention, I reckon if the Carrows notice something’s up, that’ll bring V- our enemies down on us in a trice. And uh, erm, anyway, thanks for your help everyone. And like I said, stay safe.”
</p>
<p>“We will,” Neville promised, and as the majority of the students began to file out, Veronica could only hope that his promise would be kept by all of them.
</p><hr/>
<p>As it turned out, Veronica herself brought doom down upon them by having Luna take her to Ravenclaw Tower to look at the bust, only to run into Alecto Carrow there. So much for telling everyone to be careful. Before she knew it, the Carrows had been taken down- but not before calling Voldemort to the school- and the castle was preparing for battle. Snape was gone, having been chased off by the professors who believed him to be a death eater after all, and Veronica hadn’t stopped them since she wasn’t sure what to think about the professor at this point. Yes, she was pretty sure Draco had said Snape had helped with the luck potion, but at the same time, that might have been her own bias talking. After all, Snape was her best friend’s godfather, and while he did tend to be a bit stiff towards Veronica, the two of them had developed a grudging sort of tolerance towards each other due to their mutual affection towards Draco. They didn’t particularly like one another, but Veronica had come to trust Snape. Admittedly, that trust had been shaken when he’d killed Dumbledore, but a part of her still wanted to believe in the man because, although he was always exceedingly rude to her, he did still look out for her in a way. For instance, every Christmas since she started at Hogwarts an unidentified benefactor had sent her a jar of a useful salve which could heal flesh wounds almost instantly. A salve which couldn’t be found on the market but, when she showed it to Draco, he recognized, having seen it in Snape’s private lab. 
</p>
<p>Still, things did work out, in a way, since Veronica had finally had the good sense to seek information from the ghosts, and had been able to get answers from the ghost of Ravenclaw’s daughter herself. From there, it was a simple matter of going back to the Room of Requirement and asking it for the place where things were hidden, and sure enough, she was able to find the diadem, but then she ran into Crabbe and Goyle in the process.
</p>
<p>In the past, Draco had actually been friends of a sort with Crabbe and Goyle. Not because any of them liked each other, but because Draco was the godson of the head of their house, giving him a certain amount of leverage over the other Slytherins, and Crabbe and Goyle had the kind of muscle that made them intimidating and therefore they could serve to defend Draco against any of the many students in the school who wished the son of dark sympathizers ill. All in all, it was a relationship of mutual benefit. Unfortunately, after the ministry incident in fifth year, that relationship had taken a turn for the worse as the dark lord came out into the open. Suddenly Draco’s friendship with Veronica was, in the eyes of most of his fellow Slytherins, Crabbe and Goyle included, a Problem. Snape’s protection meant nothing when Draco’s behavior put him at odds with those who were happy to support Voldemort.
</p>
<p>Needless to say, the encounter with Crabbe and Goyle hadn’t exactly been amicable, and had quickly turned into a duel in which Crabbe used fiendfyre, bringing about his own death and nearly killing everyone else present, but ultimately destroying the horcrux that had been in the diadem. And since Ron had apparently figured out how to get the basilisk’s fangs from the Chamber of Secrets and destroyed Hufflepuff’s cup, that meant that five of the horcruxes had been destroyed. Only Nagini was left.
</p>
<p>Because of what she’d sensed from the connection with Voldemort, Veronica knew that the dark lord would be keeping his snake close to his side, which meant that to kill the snake she needed to find the dark lord. It’d be like a child’s game of hide-and-go-seek: “ready or not, here I come,” only Veronica was saying those words to herself, not to the person she was seeking. If only she’d been able to kill the snake back in Godric’s Hollow…
</p>
<p>But even if she’d killed Nagini then, it wouldn’t change the fact that she needed to find Voldemort now. It’d make killing him a bit easier, sure- a lot easier, really- but, well, it was all a sort of mental thing, wasn’t it? Sure, Veronica had the infamous Gryffindor courage in spades, but even she couldn’t help but to hesitate somewhat when faced with the prospect of going head to head with one of the worst dark lords of the current era. And while she had, as she’d told the others previously, fought Voldemort before, they too had been right when they’d said she hadn’t exactly won against him. Not really. She’d had her mum’s protection to save her from Quirrel, Fawkes to save her in the chamber, her now-broken wand to save her in the graveyard, Dumbledore to save her in the ministry. None of which could help her now. 
</p>
<p>But before she could fight Voldemort for the last time, she needed to find him first. Luckily for her, she was practically a walking dark lord detector, at least when it came to Voldemort. How nice of him to have left a calling card on the night he’d tried to kill her, right?
</p>
<p>So while Hermione and Ron waited with baited breath, Veronica closed her eyes, trying to find that part of her head that didn’t belong to her. It wasn’t hard to find, full as it was with the dark lord’s rage, and within seconds she was opening her eyes again, aware of where they’d find him.
</p>
<p>“He’s in the Shrieking Shack,” she informed her two friends. “Let’s go.”
</p>
<p>They didn’t get more than two steps, however, before a voice called out to them, or rather, to Veronica.
</p>
<p>“There you are!” Draco exclaimed, speed-walking his way over to them. Draco didn’t run, not unless it was absolutely necessary. He claimed it was beneath his dignity. That, and the pained stiffness of his movements probably was a sign that, for the moment, running was beyond his capabilities. “Veronica, before you do anything stupid- don’t argue, you know you’re going to, you bloody Gryffindor- when we were working on the Felix Felicis, Sev gave me something for you, that I was to give to you if anything happened to him. He said it was absolutely necessary for you to see it <i>before</i> you faced down old Snakester.”
</p>
<p>“What is it?” Veronica asked impatiently. There was no sense dilly-dallying about, she had a dark lord to defeat. And the longer she waited, the more time she’d have to think about how outmatched she was. 
</p>
<p>In response, Draco produced a small vial, similar to the ones that he and Blaise had put the potion in, but this one contained something silvery and viscous. Memories.
</p>
<p>“Not entirely sure,” he replied. “I haven’t seen them myself. Sev was very adamant about them being for your eyes only.”
</p>
<p>“Guess we’ll need a pensieve then,” Veronica murmured, half to herself. “I don’t suppose Dumbledore’s old one is still in his office, is it?” she asked Draco, who nodded. “And the password?” she asked.
</p>
<p>“Dumbledore,” Draco replied. “Personally, I thought it should be ‘Potter’, but Sev wouldn’t have it. Said he didn’t want to be reminded of your father every time he stepped into his own office, and that it would be painfully obvious where our true loyalties lie.”
</p>
<p>“Yeah, I reckon it might be a bit of a giveaway,” Ron snorted. “Nothing like using your worst enemy’s name as a password to say you don’t hate them as much as you should.”
</p>
<p>“Please, of course I’d thought of that.” Draco rolled his eyes. “The idea was to make the password ‘Potter’, but never say <i>just</i> ‘Potter’. You’d say it in a sentence or phrase, like ‘Potter will fall’ or ‘Potter needs to learn how to use a comb’- that one is certainly true, dear-  and the door would still open.”
</p>
<p>“Gee, thanks,” Veronica drawled sarcastically. “Glad to know you were planning on badmouthing me every chance you got.”
</p>
<p>“That was if anyone might hear us, idiot,” Draco retorted. “Obviously there’d be no need if there was no chance of being overheard.”
</p>
<p>“If you say so,” Veronica said, snatching the vial from Draco. “I guess I’d better go take a look at this, then,” she added. “See you guys in a bit.” 
</p>
<p>She waved, but Hermione grabbed her arm before she could walk away.
</p>
<p>“Veronica, wait, it could be a trap!” she hissed, then awkwardly added to Draco, “Er, sorry, it’s just that-”
</p>
<p>“It’s just that it’s awfully convenient for me to suddenly be back on your side after I betrayed you, I know,” Draco said wryly, his right hand rising to clutch at his left forearm. “I would feel the same in your shoes. But I swear to you, as far as I know, that office is safe.”
</p>
<p>“You didn’t betray us,” Veronica spat vehemently, because in her eyes, he very much hadn’t. He’d been forced into a bad situation, and if anyone was to blame, it was Veronica, since she was the one who’d fallen for Voldemort’s ministry trap hook, line, and sinker. “And there’s no way you’d ever try and set us up. You’re not like that, Draco.” She didn’t have to look to see that Ron and Hermione were exchanging that look they got whenever Veronica stood up for Draco. It was a look that said, “Here she goes again,” and “Why won’t she just see sense?” and something else as well that Veronica hadn’t quite figured out, but was a little bit pitying, she thought. “Which is why,” she continued, “I’m going. Like I said, I’ll see you guys in a bit.”
</p>
<p>With that, Veronica jogged off, wanting to avoid being waylaid a second time. She had to throw a few hexes and dodge a few jinxes along the way, because the school was by this time a battleground, but eventually she made it to the corridor with the gargoyle statue and was able to give it the password and slip inside.
</p>
<p>As it turned out, the office was empty. Even the portrait frames had cleared out. Veronica did briefly wonder if there were any spells that functioned similarly to muggle gas attacks, but she dismissed the notion, instead heading over to the pensieve. As she’d reminded Hermione, Draco wouldn’t send her into an ambush. He was her best friend.
</p>
<p>At the pensieve, Veronica dumped the vial of memories into the basin, and then carefully stuck her head inside. She closed her eyes as she broached the surface of the liquid in the pensieve, and when she opened them, she was in a memory of Snape’s, ready to learn what he wanted her to know.
</p>
<p>Right from the get-go, the memories were shocking, to say the least. Snape had grown up in the same neighborhood as her mom, had even become her friend. In some ways, their friendship reminded Veronica of her own bond with Draco. Only where Veronica and Draco had managed to remain close despite being in different houses, Snape and Lily’s friendship had become strained and fallen apart.
</p>
<p>She watched as Snape begged Dumbledore to help save her mother, watched as he raged and despaired in the wake of Lily’s death. And in her mind, she couldn’t help but compare again to her and Draco, and wonder how Draco would react if it were she who might die, she who got killed because of a prophecy surrounding her child. Yes, Draco would certainly be in a similar emotional state, although she doubted he’d ever be that resentful towards someone Veronica chose to love, let alone any child of hers.
</p>
<p>The memory changed again, and Veronica found herself in Dumbledore’s office, watching Snape glare sullenly at the carpet as the headmaster made a request of him.
</p>
<p>“Severus, you are being unreasonable,” Dumbledore chided. “You need to go to Diagon Alley anyway to purchase your godson’s school things, having one more child along won’t make that much difference.”
</p>
<p>“Hmph,” Snape grumbled. “Once the girl realizes her celebrity status, she’ll no doubt take advantage of it. I won’t have her being a bad influence on Draco, or worse, mistreating him out of a sense of superiority. He’s had enough abuse in his life.”
</p>
<p>Veronica flinched at that. Apparently, about four years before they’d started Hogwarts, Draco had been abducted by people who saw a death eater’s son as a blemish on the wizarding world. He’d been rescued quickly, but not before being subjected to several unpleasant hexes. Although she hadn’t known it at the time, that had been one of the main reasons for his meek demeanor when they’d first met: experience had taught him that public spaces such as Diagon Alley were dangerous.
</p>
<p>“I highly doubt that such a turn of events would take place,” Dumbledore replied. “The girl will be very much overwhelmed, I should think, given that it is her first exposure to the wizarding world. Besides, if anyone can be trusted to discipline the girl if she has indeed grown an overinflated sense of self-worth, it would be you. I leave this matter in your hands, Severus.”
</p>
<p>“But-!”
</p>
<p>“Severus, Hagrid will be available to retrieve the girl and transport her to Diagon Alley, but once there, he will have some very important and rather urgent business to attend to for me, and will not be able to look after her. I need you to do this. You did promise to protect the girl.”
</p>
<p>“Fine,” Snape snapped, storming out of the room.
</p>
<p>The next few memories showed other such scenes, of Snape and Dumbledore arguing over Veronica’s treatment, before jumping ahead again to the summer almost two years previously. Snape was reporting on the mission the dark lord had assigned to Draco, and on Draco’s condition, but his report was given as he cast spells on Dumbledore’s ring-blackened hand. Dumbledore had remained quite calm, before requesting that Snape not only assist Draco in succeeding, but that he be the one to cast the final blow since Draco wouldn’t have it in him. He called it mercy, for Snape to finish him off.
</p>
<p>After that, there were only a couple more memories. They showed how Snape had helped in secret, both with the potion and the sword, before fading into one last one that dropped a bombshell that left Veronica feeling shattered.
</p>
<p>She was the final horcrux.
</p>
<p>She had to die.
</p>
<p>And didn’t that just beat all; she’d been told all along that she had to be the one to finish off the dark lord, except she couldn’t possibly do that, since she would definitely predecease him. She’d just have to trust that to her friends.
</p>
<p>Her friends… Oh Merlin, how were they going to take this? She couldn’t tell them; even if it was the only way, they would surely try to stop her. But when they found out, they’d be devastated, wouldn’t they? She knew she would be, if it were them who had to die. And furious too, if they went to die without saying anything to her. Would they ever forgive her?
</p>
<p>Thinking about her friends was probably a mistake, because it made Veronica feel much worse. She could just picture all their reactions, and it hurt so badly. The Weasleys, who were something like a surrogate family to her. Hermione, who had been her lifeline all this past year. And Draco…
</p>
<p>Slowly, Veronica lifted her head from the pensieve, and she was only a little surprised to find Ron and Hermione there. They both had grim looks on their faces, and Veronica feared what news they could possibly have. Someone must’ve died. Or maybe the school had fallen, or-
</p>
<p>“Veronica, thank goodness,” Hermione gasped, pulling her into a hug. “We didn’t want to disturb you, but we figured you ought to know.”
</p>
<p>“Know what?” Veronica croaked hoarsely.
</p>
<p>“Snake-face made an announcement, about ten minutes ago now,” Ron told her. “He called the death eaters to pull back, and said he’d spare everyone if you were handed over to him within an hour.”
</p>
<p>“We don’t think anyone would try and turn you in, but we still thought you should know,” Hermione added in a rush. “Or rather, we didn’t think it would be right not to tell you.”
</p>
<p>Veronica wasn’t sure what expression she was making right then, but she couldn’t help but feel it was bitterly ironic that just when she’d discovered what she needed to do, the perfect opportunity presented itself. She just had to find a way to give everyone the slip.
</p>
<p>“Thanks guys, I- I can’t say I’m glad to hear that, but, well, I guess what I mean is, I’d hate to hear about that later on,” Veronica said, fumbling for words. Surprisingly enough, her voice managed to sound rather normal, despite the fact that at this point, she felt mostly numb. “So how bad are things right now? I mean, how is everyone? We haven’t lost too many, have we?”
</p>
<p>In other words, how many deaths was she responsible for. How many people had she failed to save? How many lives had been lost from her failures? Even though she was going to die tonight without having ever killed anyone directly, she would still bear the guilt for every person who had died at Voldemort’s hands.
</p>
<p>“Better than we could have hoped for,” Hermione said grimly. “A couple of people have died on our side, but there would definitely have been more without the Felix Felicis.”
</p>
<p>“Told you we could trust Draco,” Veronica couldn’t help but interject. “Speaking of, where is he?” A horrible thought occurred to her then. “Wait, he’s not- he wasn’t one of-”
</p>
<p>“He’s fine, last we saw him,” Ron informed her. Veronica heaved a sigh of relief.
</p>
<p>“But while the death toll is low, there’s still plenty of people who won’t be able to fight anymore,” Hermione continued. “Lavender was maimed by Greyback, and I think there were a couple of other victims. Plus there’s plenty of curse victims. But more importantly, we need to talk about what we’re going to do once the potion wears off. Our luck is going to run out, Vee, and we need to be prepared for that.”
</p>
<p>“We’ll have to have people evacuate,” Veronica suggested, trying to think of ways to buy herself some time for what she needed to do. “The less people who stay, the less who can get hurt, right?”
</p>
<p>“I’m not sure we’ve cut down their forces enough for that,” Hermione replied. “They did take some heavy losses, but they’ve still got quite the advantage.”
</p>
<p>“So we’ll set up more defenses,” Veronica pressed. “Hiding places, traps, I don’t know, that’s really your area of expertise, Mione. Whatever it takes to give us an edge. The potion should help, right? It does have a way of pointing your thoughts in the right direction after all…” 
</p>
<p>“Sounds like Fred and George’s type of thing to me,” Ron commented. “I mean, if they were able to make a corridor into a swamp two years ago, imagine what those two could get up to now.”
</p>
<p>“We should also ask the professors of course,” Hermione chipped in, reluctantly getting dragged into their pace as always. “Not only would they have knowledge on the school’s enchantments, but they are powerful wizards and witches, not to mention being something of experts in their own fields.”
</p>
<p>“I really doubt they know all that much more about the school’s enchantments than you,” Mione,” Veronica chuckled. “How many times have you read <i>Hogwarts, a History</i> again?”
</p>
<p>“I haven’t read <i>that</i> much,” Hermione protested quietly, her cheeks dusted with pink.
</p>
<p>“For you, maybe,” Ron cut in. “For most people, reading through the school library three times over is a lot.”
</p>
<p>“I have not!” Hermione protested indignantly.
</p>
<p>“Anyway, d’you think you two can manage getting the school set up for defense?” Veroinca asked, getting back on track. “I’ll go find Neville and Luna and Ginny and see if they can’t help me orchestrate an evacuation.”
</p>
<p>“Sure thing, Vee,” Ron said, waving. “Good luck.” He laughed, chortling “heh, luck,” to himself, and Veronica rolled her eyes as she waved back.
</p>
<p>“Be careful!” Hermione called after her as she left the office. It was such an ordinary parting, and yet it made Veronica’s breath catch in her throat and the mild cheer she’d felt from their friendly teasing vanish. There was no sense in Veronica being careful, not now. Not when she needed to die.
</p>
<p>She scampered lightly down the stairs, her chest feeling oddly fluttery and her heart feeling like it was going a million miles a minute despite the fact that it was beating at a normal rate. She felt like she was shaking, and yet when she looked at her hands, they were steady. 
</p>
<p>Once out of sight, Veronica went ahead and took out her vial of the potion. She hadn’t planned on actually taking it, but… if she was to get out of the castle undetected, she might as well use it. Sure she had her cloak, but she needed to be certain that nothing would go wrong.
</p>
<p>Having downed the potion, Veronica let her feet take her where they would, and before long she found herself face to face with Neville. Perfect.
</p>
<p>“Hey, Nev,” she greeted.
</p>
<p>“Hey, Vee,” he greeted back, smiling tiredly at her. “Let’s give ‘em hell when the attacks resume, eh?” 
</p>
<p>“About that,” Veronica started. “I was talking with Hermione and Ron, and we were thinking it’d be best to change tactics. We want to beef up the defenses as much as we can so we can fight with a smaller force, and evacuate everyone else.”
</p>
<p>“I don’t reckon many people are going to want to leave,” Neville mused. “Sure, there’s some who got a bit shaken in the fighting and probably can’t handle more. But most of us want to protect our home and everything we believe in, and that’s why we’re here. We’re not about to just give up.”
</p>
<p>“I’m not asking you to,” Veronica insisted, only half in-control of her words. As she spoke, the potion seemed to take over her mouth, determining what she said for her. “If the people who leave only go as far as Hogsmeade, they’ll be perfectly in place as a sort of back-up force should the death eaters try and make a break for it.”
</p>
<p>“I suppose you do have a point there,” Neville admitted. “A lot of the death eaters do have some rather cowardly tendencies.”
</p>
<p>“So will you help me round everyone up then?” Veronica asked.
</p>
<p>Neville nodded. “Sure thing, Vee.”
</p>
<p>“Great! I was going to ask Luna and Ginny to help out too, so if you’d fill them in, that’d be a huge help,” Veronica beamed.
</p>
<p>“Alright,” Neville agreed. “Anything else?”
</p>
<p>Veronica was about to say no, but then her brain reminded her of one little detail that needed to be attended to.
</p>
<p>“Actually, yeah,” she replied. “Before I can kill Volde- Voldy, someone’s gotta take out his snake. I can’t explain why, but the snake has to go first. Can you do that?”
</p>
<p>Neville frowned at her, looking confused.
</p>
<p>“Why me?” he asked. “Why not Ron or Hermione or Draco or even one of the members of the Order?”
</p>
<p>“Because they weren’t the ones who’ve been keeping the students together all year,” Veronica replied seriously. “And besides, in some ways, we’re not so different, you and I. So if there were any reason I weren’t able to finish things, I think it’d probably be you to do it. And- and I’m not making any sense right now, am I?”
</p>
<p>“Not really,” Neville agreed. “But as for the snake, I’ll definitely do what I can. If you need me to do that so you can finish the bastard off, then it’ll be the least I can do to take care of that for you.”
</p>
<p>“Thanks, Nev,” Veronica smiled. “I’ll see you later, then.” Except she wouldn’t, would she?
</p>
<p>“See you,” Neville replied, and the two parted, with Neville oblivious to the burden Veronica had just placed on his shoulders. But it could have been him, really. It could just as easily have been a boy-who-lived rather than a girl. He could have been the chosen one, the golden child, the celebrity hero who hadn’t actually done anything. And since Veronica had to die, then Neville was the only one left to be the prophesied vanquisher of dark lords. 
</p>
<p>After turning a corner, Veronica checked that no one could see her, then pulled out her cloak and ducked under it. Thus hidden, she was able to sneak her ways through the hallways and to the entrance with ease. In some ways, it made her wish she hadn’t put on the cloak, because if any of the people she passed by invisibly had seen her, they might have noticed where she was headed and stopped her. And while this was what she had to do, she couldn’t help but wish someone would. If they’d just take this decision out of her hands, then it would be too bad, so sad, she’d tried her best but in the end she just couldn’t do it. She’d get to live. But then, of course, who knew how many people might die? And it would always be Veronica’s fault, regardless of the fact that someone had prevented her from sacrificing herself.
</p>
<p>Slipping out the front doors of the castle, Veronica couldn’t help but pause to turn around and take one last look at the castle that had been her home for six years. It was here that she’d learned magic, both the kind cast with a wand and the kind that came from the bonds between people. She’d felt love here, maybe not romantic love, but the love that was friendship and the familial love that came from people like the Weasleys, and Sirius, and even some of the professors to a certain extent. Like McGonagall, who felt a bit like a stern old aunt who hid her fondness behind a mask of impartiality. To Veronica, Hogwarts was a place of safety and happiness, despite the fact that she’d experienced more threats to her life here than with Dursleys, and suffered some of her most miserable days here as well. She would miss- well, she wouldn’t miss it since she’d be dead, but it was hard to let go of this place that meant so much to her. At least by dying, she’d be protecting it.
</p>
<p>“Thought I’d find you here,” a voice said, interrupting Veronica’s thoughts. She looked around, startled, and saw Draco, but he didn’t seem to be talking to anyone. Instead, he was staring out over the castle grounds, his gaze distant. Realizing he must be talking to her, Veronica removed her cloak with a sigh.
</p>
<p>“How did you know I was here?” she asked, all her reminiscent thoughts about Hogwarts shifting to Draco instead.
</p>
<p>“I didn’t,” he replied airily, still staring out at the grounds. “But I had a feeling if I said something you’d pop up.”
</p>
<p>“A feeling? I thought that sort of thing was for Gryffindors,” Veronica teased, before the words really sank in. “Oh. A feeling. You took the potion.”
</p>
<p>“Yes,” Draco nodded, finally turning towards her but keeping his gaze askance. “I wasn’t planning to, originally, but I thought I might need it. Sev didn’t tell me anything about the memories he left for you, but he did tell me that when I gave them to you, I should make sure I didn’t leave anything left unsaid to you.” Draco looked up then, his eyes meeting Veronica and practically piercing straight through her with the sorrow in them. He knew.
</p>
<p>“Oh,” Veronica said, her voice uncharacteristically small.
</p>
<p>“I- I figured I should let you see the memories before I said anything,” Draco continued, a slight tremor in his voice. “That, and, well, I didn’t really want to say what I had to say in front of Ron and Hermione.”
</p>
<p>“Er, um, thanks for that, I guess,” Veronica stammered. “For not, uh- for waiting.”
</p>
<p>“You haven’t told them, have you,” Draco stated, rather than questioned. Veronica hung her head.
</p>
<p>“How can I?” she asked. “They’d- they’d try to stop me, or- They’d just make it harder for me. They wouldn’t understand what it is that I have to do.”
</p>
<p>“And I won’t?” Draco asked softly.
</p>
<p>“Will you?” Veronica questioned back. Draco paused for a moment, just staring at her. She hadn’t noticed them gravitating towards each other, but now they were face to face, barely a foot between them, and she could almost feel his breath.
</p>
<p>“No, I won’t,” he finally responded hoarsely, looking away. “Though Circe knows I want to.”
</p>
<p>“You could,” Veronica said in a small voice, lowering her eyes to the ground.
</p>
<p>“No, Veronica, I can’t,” Draco said, reaching out to tilt her head back upward and look her in the eye. “Sev wouldn’t have told me to say my goodbyes unless… unless he was sure you were going to die. Which would mean you dying is the only way to- to-” he cut himself off, too choked up to continue, turning and pacing away before coming right back like a yo-yo. “It just isn’t fair,” he ranted harshly. “Why can’t it be someone else who has to die? I mean, you’ve already lost so much to the dark lord, now you have to die as well? It’s utter bollocks!”
</p>
<p>“It’s because I’m the Chosen One,” Veronica said wryly. “The dark lord chose me to be the other person in the prophecy, and now I have to fulfill it. But you’re right, it is bollocks. I was really looking forward to after the war.”
</p>
<p>“So was I,” Draco admitted. “I even worked myself to the bone on that bloody potion to try and redeem myself enough that I could finally ask you out. For the record, Felix Felicis is a pain in the arse to make.”
</p>
<p>“I’ll take your word for it,” Veronica laughed. “But you know, you didn’t really have to redeem yourself. I was always going to find a way to get you back. In a way, I’m actually kinda miffed that you came back on your own.”
</p>
<p>“What, were you planning to come rushing in and save the day, then sweep yon fair fellow off his feet?” Draco drawled jokingly.
</p>
<p>“Something like that,” Veronica agreed. “Though you forgot the part where we’d ride off into the sunset on my broom.”
</p>
<p>“I’d say that sounds like a good way to go blind, but you already practically are,” Draco commented. Veronica retaliated by making a rude gesture that she’d learned from Ron at him.
</p>
<p>“It’s supposed to be romantic, you arse. It’s in all the muggle movies,” she informed him haughtily. Not that she’d know, since the Dursleys weren’t exactly keen on letting her watch TV with them, nor were they inclined to give her money to go to the cinema herself.
</p>
<p>“It still doesn’t seem very sensible,” Draco argued.
</p>
<p>“It’s not supposed to be sensible, it’s supposed to be a lovely image,” Veronica retorted.
</p>
<p>“Well in that case, there’s no need for the sunset; despite those awful glasses, you’re quite the lovely image on your own.”
</p>
<p>For a second, Veronica’s breath caught in her throat, touched by the unexpected compliment. Of course, Draco had to ruin things by continuing, “Though obviously, not as lovely as me. Still, with us both on the broom, the sunset would end up being overshadowed, so it would be completely moot.”
</p>
<p>“Bloody ponce,” Veronica muttered.
</p>
<p>“You know I’m just joking,” he replied. “About me being lovelier I mean. I was serious about the rest. You’ve always been quite breathtaking to me. With or without a sunset.”
</p>
<p>“And you said <i>I’m</i> the one who’s almost blind?” Veronica teased.
</p>
<p>“Shut up, you’re bloody gorgeous, in your own way,” Draco scoffed.
</p>
<p>“Hm, I think you’re biased,” Veronica replied.
</p>
<p>“I am,” Draco admitted. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you have a smile that could make the middle of winter feel like summer. The world needs warm people like you. Which is why it’s such a waste that you have to die.”
</p>
<p>“I’m not as good as you think I am, Draco,” Veronica protested quietly. “If I am the person you say I am, it’s because you helped me to be that girl. You can see me that way because you allow me to be that sort of person. Without you, I might have turned out differently.”
</p>
<p>“Hardly,” Draco scoffed. “You’re too noble to turn out any other way. Too Gryffindor. You’re a Potter, and that means you’ve got lion in your blood.”
</p>
<p>“And yet I almost ended up in Slytherin,” Veronica pointed out. “Though Hogwarts houses hardly determine how a person will turn out.”
</p>
<p>“Perhaps not,” Draco shrugged. He sighed, then added, “I’m really going to miss you, you know.”
</p>
<p>“Is it rotten if I say I’m glad?” Veronica asked.
</p>
<p>“No,” Draco replied. “It’s not.” He reached out and pulled her close, and for a second Veronica thought he was going to kiss her, but it was just an embrace. Still, it was warm, and it was the first hug she’d gotten from Draco since before the Yule Ball. He’d given her plenty of hugs when everyone was against her for being a “cheat” but after the first task when the school was no longer completely against her, he’d become much less tactile than before. So while it wasn’t exactly all that she’d hoped for, she couldn’t help but relish it. It’d be the last affection she’d ever receive after all.
</p>
<p>Eventually though, Veronica pulled away with a sigh. “I should go,” she said. She could see the moment Draco shut off his emotions so that he wouldn’t stop her, like he was slamming a door shut in his soul. “Hey, promise me one thing,” she said, trying to bring back his previous expression, because she missed his gentle looks even though they’d only vanished a few seconds prior. “When you have kids, name one after me.”
</p>
<p>“I can’t do that,” Draco replied sadly. “There’s only you, Veronica. No one else will ever be able to take your place.”
</p>
<p>“Oh,” Veronica said lamely. “Er, I was just joking, you know. But, um…” She trailed off, uncertain how to brush off this awkwardness but not wanting to leave on such a note.
</p>
<p>“Oh!” she said again, this time excited as an idea occurred to her. Her hand jumped to the mokeskin pouch she carried around her neck. “I have something for you, hang on!”
</p>
<p>She opened the pouch and pulled out the snitch Dumbledore had bequeathed her, earning herself a raised eyebrow from Draco. Drawing the snitch up to her mouth, she held it to her lips as she said “I’m going to die”, and the golden ball opened up, revealing the ring she’d long suspected was there. She turned the snitch over to drop the ring into her hand, then held it out to Draco on her open palm.
</p>
<p>“This is one of the Deathly Hallows,” she said. “The Resurrection Stone. With it, you could meet your parents, and also… Well, you’ll still be able to see me, once I’ve…” Veronica didn’t finish the sentence. She couldn’t. Even if they’d been talking about it this whole time, it was still hard to say.
</p>
<p>Draco took Veronica’s hand and closed her fingers over the ring.
</p>
<p>“Keep it,” he said, his voice choked. “I- I’d rather not keep you here like that. I mean, I want you here, but… I want <i>you</i>. The you that’s right here, not some remnant held here by my own selfishness. Death keeps those it takes. That ring doesn’t bring them back, it just makes the absence hurt even more.”
</p>
<p>“But wouldn’t you like to talk to your parents, at least once?” Veronica pressed. Because as horrific as that night in the graveyard when Voldemort had come back had been, she couldn’t help but treasure those few words from her mum and dad. It was one thing to be told how they’d loved her, and to know it was their loving sacrifice that had allowed her to live, but it was another to experience that love. 
</p>
<p>“Of course I would,” Draco told her. “But they did everything they could to ensure my survival. They’d want me to live, not trap myself in the past.”
</p>
<p>“Oh, I guess that’s true,” Veronica said, suddenly feeling selfish for wanting Draco to keep her here with the ring.
</p>
<p>“Don’t misunderstand me, Veronica,” Draco said, smiling painfully, so painfully that Veronica felt like bursting into tears from the torment spilling from his eyes and flowing into whoever might meet them. “If there was a way to get a happy ending, one where I could keep you with me and keep you safe, I would. The last thing I want is for you to die. But I know you’d never forgive yourself if you don’t do whatever it is that you must do that will result in your death. I can’t make you suffer like that just so I can have whatever fleeting stolen time we’d get before the dark lord hunted you down. And if I take that ring… I think the temptation would be too great. To do as the second brother did, and choose to join you so as to be with you properly.”
</p>
<p>Veronica’s jaw dropped and she stared a moment before finding the words to respond. “Don’t even think about it you bloody bastard,” she said with flat anger.
</p>
<p>“I thought you might say that,” Draco replied with a small wet laugh. “I promise I won’t.”
</p>
<p>“Good,” Veronica stated. She glanced at her watch, and saw that time was beginning to run low. “I’d better get going. I-” She wasn’t sure what she was trying to say. How could she possibly begin to convey everything she was feeling, everything Draco meant to her, all the gratitude she’d built towards him, all the love? “Thanks, I guess,” she settled on, kicking herself for how not-smooth that was. “For being my best friend. And for coming to say goodbye, and- just thanks. And goodbye.”
</p>
<p>Feeling tears in her eyes, Veronica brushed past Draco, intent on getting out of there before she really started crying. Or rather, she tried to, because right as she started to move, Draco surged forward, his lips colliding violently with hers in what had to be one of the worst kisses in history, almost splitting her lip in the process. He pulled back a bit then tried again, this time successfully managing a sweet and gentle kiss, and Veronica felt everything she’d wanted to say but couldn’t being said right back to her.
</p>
<p>“I love you,” he said after pulling away. “I always did, and always will. Go save the world Veronica. We’ll take care of the rest.”
</p>
<p>“Me too,” Veronica replied. “And I guess I’ll be leaving things to you. Finish him off for me. And if you could, try and look after everyone.”
</p>
<p>“I will.” He pressed their foreheads together for a few short seconds of eternity, and then let go, and Veronica knew it was time to go. This time, she really did go past him, putting the ring and cloak on as she went. She felt his eyes on her as she walked away, and knew that even if he couldn’t see her, he’d keep watch for a while.
</p>
<p>Veronica waited until she was within the trees before thrice turning the stone, and watched as everyone came out. She wasn’t surprised to see her parents or Sirius, but she was taken aback when they were joined by two more figures who she’d never met before, but had seen often enough, since they both shared traits with Draco.
</p>
<p>“Er, hello, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy?” Veronica greeted uncertainly.
</p>
<p>“Hello dear,” Mrs. Malfoy replied, smiling and waving daintily.
</p>
<p>“Thank you for looking after our son for so long,” Mr. Malfoy said coolly, with a curt perfunctory bow. 
</p>
<p>“Indeed, you mean a great deal to him,” Mrs. Malfoy agreed.
</p>
<p>“At this point, it might be better to say I <i>meant</i> a great deal to him,” Veronica corrected sadly. “Since I’m not going to be around much longer.”
</p>
<p>“You don’t stop caring about someone just because they’re gone, kiddo,” Veronica’s father chipped in. “After all, the stone you’re holding wouldn’t exist if you did. He’ll still love you.”
</p>
<p>“I know,” Veronica replied. “But in some ways that just makes it harder. Knowing how much me doing this is going to hurt him. Hurt all of them. My friends, I mean.”
</p>
<p>“They’ll understand,” Sirius told her, reaching out a hand as if to rest it on her shoulder, but drawing back after his fingers started to go through her. “It may take them some time, years even, but by the time they join you, that anger will be gone, and they’ll just be glad to see you again after so long. I’d know, that’s how I felt seeing these two again.” He jerked a thumb at Lily and James.
</p>
<p>“You were angry at them for dying?” Veronica asked, surprised.
</p>
<p>“A bit, yeah,” Sirius admitted. “Especially once I was landed in Azkaban. It’s hard to appreciate that they did it to save their darling little girl when you’re stuck in the most negative place on earth instead of raising that darling little girl. In some ways, I guess I even blamed them for the fact that I was there, even thought that was all my fault, for chasing after Peter, and even for suggesting him as their secret keeper in the first place.”
</p>
<p>“Oh, I never knew that,” Veronica whispered, though she supposed it did make sense. Sirius had carried a lot of anger during the short two years that she’d known him, so it did seem to fit what she knew of his character to mourn with anger.
</p>
<p>Turning thoughts of grieving friends aside, Veronica changed the subject, going for the first thing that popped into her mind. “But um, anyway, it doesn’t hurt or anything, does it?” she asked, because somehow she’d reached a point where it was easier to think about death itself and not life. “I mean, I’ll deal with it how it comes, but-”
</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, you don’t feel a thing,” Sirius soothed, and the others nodded along.
</p>
<p>“It’ll be okay,” Mrs. Malfoy said. “We’ll stay right by your side.”
</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Veronica said thickly.
</p>
<p>“We’re so proud of you, darling,” Lily told her. “You’ve been so brave.”
</p>
<p>“Though I do wish you would have lived a while longer,” James added. “Thought you’d at least live longer than we did.”
</p>
<p>“Yeah, I thought so too,” Veronica agreed wistfully.
</p>
<p>All too soon, she reached a clearing where the dark lord was waiting. All too soon, she pulled off the cloak and dropped the ring. All too soon, there was a flash of green light, and then there was nothing. Her final thought was that at least she’d said goodbye.
</p><hr/>
<p>Except that wasn’t how it ended, not really. Sure there had been the flash of green and the peaceful thoughts, but then she’d woken up in King’s Cross, with Dumbledore and the misshapen creature that had been the horcrux inside her. She’d been given an option. And while she had briefly considered getting on a train and heading off to a long rest, in the end, the choice was a no-brainer. There was too much waiting for her back in life for her to let her death be final. So she went back. She went back, and pretended to be dead as her body was carried back to the school to be put on display, but then her friends had done her proud, and before she knew it Neville had killed Nagini as promised and she’d slipped under her cloak in a moment of distraction, sneaking into the great hall to finish off the dark lord like she was supposed to. She’d taken a few moments to admire her friends as they held their own in duels with death eaters, using everything they’d learned back in their DA days. And then she’d gone head to head with Voldemort, and thanks to her being master of the elder wand, she won. The dark lord died, and she lived.
</p>
<p>With victory achieved, Veronica found herself swarmed by friends and euphoric allies, and she let them crash over her like a wave, too numb from shock to really protest. Eventually though, she found herself free of the throng, pulled aside by Ron and Hermione, who were good enough friends to spare her the lecture about scaring them with her “death” for the time being. They led her to Dumbledore’s office, where she was applauded by the headmasters of old, and was finally able to have a moment to breathe.
</p>
<p>Veronica didn’t see Draco at all that first night. At first, she’d been worried- terrified really- that he’d been killed in the fighting despite his consumption of the potion, but Hermione informed her that she’d seen him after the battle. It stung a little, that despite everything Draco didn’t come to pick up where they’d left off, just as it had stung when she’d asked him to the Yule Ball and found out he was already going with Pansy Parkinson, but she supposed he might feel a bit conflicted about things right now. She couldn’t imagine it was easy to say a final goodbye to someone, only to have them pop up less than an hour later and go vanquishing evil like it was the new going thing. But she’d be lying if she said she didn’t resent him a bit for it.
</p>
<p>She needn’t have bothered resenting him though, because he was there when she woke up still in the headmaster’s office, sitting by where she’d curled up in the corner like his presence was natural.
</p>
<p>“Merlin, your hair’s even worse when it’s short,” he teased. “Good morning, love.”
</p>
<p>“Oh, finally decided to show up, did you? I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind,” Veronica said, just a tad bitterly. “And mornin’ to you too.”
</p>
<p>“Sorry, I had things to take care of,” Draco said sadly. “And I thought you might be a bit overwhelmed.”
</p>
<p>“I was, a bit,” Veronica admitted. “But what do you mean, things to take care of?”
</p>
<p>“Sev,” Draco said simply. “The dark lo- no, Voldemort killed him. I had to go retrieve his body. Thankfully he didn’t have the snake eat him. And then… there were some potions Sev left for after the battle, I was helping to distribute them.” He yawned. “Salazar’s balls, I’m tired.” He leaned over, resting his head on Veronica’s shoulder. “Mm, you need to eat more, you’re bony.”
</p>
<p>“Snape’s dead?” Veronica asked, shocked and a little bit horrified. Somehow, she’d been sure Snape would survive thanks to his double agent status. She wondered what had been the thing that got him killed- surely nothing in his head, since he was too good at occlumency to get caught by Voldemort’s probing. She hoped it wasn’t because of Draco. Having caused the death of her own godfather, Veronica knew that guilt never went away. He’d already be feeling adrift without a guardian to look to, he didn’t need that on top of everything else. “How did he- I mean, are you okay, Draco? I know that must hit hard…”
</p>
<p>Her only answer was the deep breaths of someone asleep.
</p>
<p>“Sleep well, fair fellow,” she whispered fondly. 
</p>
<p>They ended up staying like that for about three hours. It was incredibly boring to Veronica to just sit there while Draco slept, but she was hardly going to move and risk waking him up, even if her arm started tingling about half an hour in. Besides, it gave her an awfully convenient excuse to avoid anyone who might want to make a fuss over what had happened the night before. It almost made Veronica want to go back to living on the run, realizing that now that she truly had defeated Voldemort, that she’d be thrust back into the spotlight. For a few seconds, she almost regretted her decision to come back to life even, since she doubted she’d ever have another second of privacy ever again.
</p>
<p>Ron and Hermione proved themselves to be the most amazing friends ever, as they both braved the grateful masses in Veronica’s stead, telling people she was resting after an exhausting night and would talk to them later, in her own time. They both reported back every so often, letting Veronica know that the Order wanted to hold a meeting and would like for her to attend, and that the professors were meeting regarding restoration of the castle and would appreciate any help they could get, and that the remaining students were to be sent home so she should really come out to say goodbye before they left. And no, Veronica did not burst into tears when hearing that last one and remembering how just last night she was saying goodbye in a very different way, but it was a near thing. 
</p>
<p>Eventually though, Veronica couldn’t avoid things any longer. When Hermione came to tell her that Rita Skeeter was about to come up with her own version of events if Veronica didn’t show up for an interview, Veronica asked her friend to buy her ten more minutes, then, once Hermione was gone, she reached over and gently shook Draco awake.
</p>
<p>“Sod off Zabini, I’m in the middle of a really good dream,” Draco grumbled sleepily.
</p>
<p>“A good dream, is it about me?” Veronica asked.
</p>
<p>“Why the bloody hell would I dream about you, you wank-?” Draco growled, raising his head off her shoulder and opening his eyes, which widened comically when he saw her face right next to his. </p>
<p>“Oh. You’re not Zabini,” he said, his voice half an octave higher than normal.
</p>
<p>“Nope. No tossers here,” Veronica agreed. “Though now that you’re awake, do you think you could help me with something?”
</p>
<p>“Of course,” Draco said, sitting up properly and fluttering his hands around his head to smooth his hair. “What can I do for you?”
</p>
<p>“I’m looking for someone,” Veronica said. “My best friend, to be precise. Skin that’s never seen the sun, hair that couldn’t be whiter if it were bleached, kinda pointy, a bit of a git, makes a good ferret.”
</p>
<p>“I do not,” Draco rolled his eyes.
</p>
<p>“Anyway, have you seen him? I need to ask him out,” Veronica finished.
</p>
<p>For a moment, Draco just stared at her slack-jawed, making glottal noises as his throat worked, before he pulled himself together.
</p>
<p>“Isn’t it traditional for the boy to be the one to ask the girl out?” he queried.
</p>
<p>“Clearly you haven’t spent enough time around Hermione; tradition is just an excuse to hang on to practices that promote inequality and other such shite,” Veronica replied primly, doing her best Hermione imitation as she paraphrased something her friend had said more than a few times. “Besides, what happens when you get gay couples, huh? Can’t have the guy asking the girl if they’re both guys or both girls.”
</p>
<p>“True enough. And I suppose if you waited for me to do the asking then we’d never get around to dating,” Draco admitted. “But to answer your question, I can’t say I’ve seen the person you are looking for seeing as I am he, and one cannot see oneself without a mirror or the usage of magic, neither of which applies at the moment.”
</p>
<p>“Such a Slytherin answer,” Veronica huffed, shaking her head fondly. “Alright, best friend. Now that I’ve found you, would you be my boyfriend?”
</p>
<p>“Only if you agree to my terms,” Draco replied. Veronica scowled, but waited patiently to hear him out. “First, you must agree to be my girlfriend as well.”
</p>
<p>“Obviously,” Veronica scoffed.
</p>
<p>“Second,” Draco continued, “this would be a mutually monogamous relationship, one with the intent of seeking to deduce whether or not a permanent relationship is feasible.”
</p>
<p>“Could you say that again in English, not Dictionary?” Veronica sighed, not because she hadn’t understood, but because she didn’t see the point in saying things in such fancy ways when they could be said much more simply.
</p>
<p>“In other words, I know it’s too soon to talk about marriage, but that’s ultimately what I’m looking for from you,” Draco stated.
</p>
<p>“Okay, anything else?” Veronica asked.
</p>
<p>“Yes, no breaking my heart,” Draco said firmly. “Which means no dying on me, Veronica Potter.”
</p>
<p>“I didn’t come back to life just to die again,” Veronica grumbled to herself. “Alright,” she said at a normal volume. “Is that it?”
</p>
<p>Draco paused and thought for a moment, before saying, “Not quite. There’s one last thing.”
</p>
<p>“What?” Veronica sighed, beginning to feel exasperated.
</p>
<p>“If you agree to the terms stated, then kiss me to seal the deal.”
</p>
<p>Veronica didn’t even bother with any sort of commentary. She threw her arms around his shoulders and leaned in, only remembering at the last second not to crash into him like the night before. She stopped just short of collision, before moving the last half-inch at a more reasonable pace, their lips meeting in a gentle caress that made Veronica very glad she’d chosen life. Her eyes closed, and she sagged against Draco, who wrapped his arms around her and supported her literally in the same way he’d always supported her figuratively. Veronica didn’t think she could feel any more in love than she did right then.
</p>
<p>And of course that was when the reporters finally broke into the office, and Veronica and Draco had to jump away from each other and collect themselves, even as the camera bulbs were already beginning to flash. It seemed Veronica had been right about not having any more privacy…
</p>
<p>There was still much to be done. The castle needed to be restored, she needed to meet with the DA and the Order, she would have to figure out how she was going to embark on her career goals when she’d skipped her seventh year of schooling, and she still needed to tell Draco about meeting his parents. She would also have to reassure her friends and the Weasleys and a lot of other people who cared about her, and doubtlessly there’d be countless public appearances expected of her. It was a lot to think about, and frankly quite overwhelming, but she knew she’d be able to get through it. After all, she had her best friend and boyfriend by her side.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I'm not entirely pleased to throw in the element of Felix Felicis, but a: I haven't seen it done elsewhere (I could just be reading the wrong fics, who knows) and b: I didn't think I could conceivably have Draco being trusted by the DA after playing a part in the death of Dumbledore unless he'd made one hell of a gesture to show that he really was on their side, and the Felix Felicis seemed like the best way to have him do that. I would have preferred something a little less deus ex machina, but oh well.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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